Grille 401 on Las Olas: Corporate Food for Corporate People

One was a velvety-rich squash soup topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt. The bright flavors of carrots, celery, and onions in the stock emboldened each bite. Even if some of the ingredients, such as the squash, were locally sourced as advertised, the $9 price seemed a bit steep. But it was a welcome warming bite on a blustery day sitting outside of Grille 401 on Las Olas Boulevard in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, amid towering buildings full of lawyers and bankers who are clearly the restaurant's intended clientele.

The other starter was a salad that gives salads a bad rap. Pale, limp greens, all Romaine, came undressed in a wide-rimmed bowl. The promised charred corn looked and tasted more like canned corn, and the black beans looked canned as well. Unseasoned, torn strips of roasted chicken tasted more like the bird had been boiled, chilled, shredded, and set aside. There was none of the cheddar cheese or ranch dressing that the menu description had promised. My guest and I nibbled on only the corn tortilla strips. All of this disappointment for only $14!

Grille 401 is the Boca Raton-based Rainmaker Restaurant Group's third project. It opened October 14 on a now-infamous corner in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The space was once home to Bova Prime, which collapsed after owner Tony Bova succumbed to slumping business and his partner, Scott Rothstein, was shipped off to serve a 50-year sentence for running a $1.4 billion Ponzi scheme. It then morphed, with limited redecoration, into Rare, a high-priced steak house where a nearly naked woman once served as the platter for dozens of colossal shrimp. That venture folded in early 2012.

A nine-month overhaul transformed the space from a stark, black-and-white eatery into a far more welcoming setting. Oversized blue and gold banquettes now fill the space; earth-toned drapes cover the windows, enticing patrons to sit and enjoy a leisurely meal. The lone aisle that runs the length of the restaurant is illuminated by massive cylindrical lamps wrapped with gray mesh suspended from two-story-high ceilings. Small oil paintings depicting country scenes hang between each table.

The steak is still here. The restaurant is a registered certified Angus beef provider, but we veered away from the pricey cuts toward the 12-ounce prime rib ($24). A thick slab of meat, with a glorious crust of salt and rosemary, came perfectly heated to the requested medium rare. The accompanying au jus was flavorful without being overly greasy, and our server had the good judgment to bring horseradish sauce without request. As we polished off the last bite, we couldn't help but wish we had ordered the 16-ounce portion ($30).

Rainmaker also owns Pinon Grill in Boca Raton and Brimstone Woodfire Grill in Pembroke Pines. Many items were carryovers from those two locations, like the grilled tuna burger ($9) and the New Orleans pasta ($24). On its website, Grille 401 brags that its food is "local." The tag line is "Local Flavors, Local People," and there's a whole section on the site under the heading "locally sourced." But specifics are hard to come by; no kinds of seasonal produce are listed, and no local producers are named. On the menu, only one dish, the stacked tomato salad ($9), is advertised as having locally grown ingredients.

Yet we didn't quite taste the promised flavor of fresh, locally grown tomatoes in that dish. Two towers made of disks of sliced, red tomatoes were layered with somewhat dry mozzarella cheese and whole basil leaves scattered throughout. The tomatoes were less sweet and more mealy than we were hoping for. Florida, with its backward growing seasons, produces a sizable share of the nation's tomatoes during the winter months, and this is one dish that should have sung.

We were pretty sure the Chilean sea bass with pesto ($30) wasn't local either. This species used to be known as the Patagonian toothfish (sounds much less appetizing, huh?) until the name Chilean sea bass was invented by fish wholesalers in the late 1970s. Overfishing nearly drove the breed into extinction in the late 1990s and 2000s. It's now found in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and still appears on menus but is about as sustainable as a 1972 Ford Pinto. The presence of the fish on the menu at all made us question whether this restaurant has any serious commitment to the local food industry or if it's just throwing the term around as a trendy marketing tactic. Using locally sourced ingredients can elevate the image of a restaurant's cuisine, as well as the price.

Asked later about the sourcing of fish and produce, Rainmaker Group Managing Director Kevin Blair danced around the issue, saying, "It's not that we have a strict practice. It's got to make sense, the availability has to be right, and it's something that we're interested in doing because I think it's something that's important to people if you can do it."

He said the company sources produce through Fresh Point, a national food distributor based locally in Pompano Beach. He added that some Homestead farms, such as Fresh Gardens, help stock the kitchen.

Chilean sea bass probably isnt that fresh once it makes its way here and its irresponsible to eat sea bass, flounder and other fish that were practically extinct. There are much better, local options.....pompano are running locally......try out local caught swordfish or atlantic sea bass....